saddle

[ sad-l ]

noun

1. a seat for a rider on the back of a horse or other animal.
2. a similar seat on a bicycle, tractor, etc.
3. a part of a harness laid across the back of an animal and girded under the belly, to which the terrets and checkhook are attached.
4. something resembling a saddle in shape, position, or function.
5. the part of the back of an animal where a saddle is placed.
6. 1. (of mutton, venison, lamb, etc.) a cut comprising both loins.
   2. this cut, trimmed and prepared for roasting.
7. (of poultry) the posterior part of the back.
8. a ridge connecting two higher elevations.
9. the covering of a roof ridge.
10. bolster ( def 7 ).
11. a raised piece of flooring between the jambs of a doorway.
12. an inverted bracket bearing on the axle of a railroad car wheel as a support for the car body.
13. Ordnance. the support for the trunnion on some gun carriages.
14. Machinery. a sliding part for spanning a space or other parts to support something else, as the cross slide and toolholder of a lathe.
15. a strip of leather, often of a contrasting color, sewn on the vamp or instep of a shoe and extending to each side of the shank.
16. saddle shoe.
17. Ceramics. a bar of refractory clay, triangular in section, for supporting one side of an object being fired.
18. (in a suspension bridge) a member at the top of a tower for supporting a cable.

verb (used with object)

, sad·dled, sad·dling.

1. to put a saddle on:

   to saddle a horse.

2. to load or charge, as with a burden:

   He has saddled himself with a houseful of impecunious relatives.

3. to impose as a burden or responsibility.

verb (used without object)

, sad·dled, sad·dling.

1. to put a saddle on a horse (often followed by up ).
2. to mount into the saddle (often followed by up ).

saddle

/ ˈsædəl /

noun

1. a seat for a rider, usually made of leather, placed on a horse's back and secured with a girth under the belly
2. a similar seat on a bicycle, tractor, etc, made of leather or steel
3. a back pad forming part of the harness of a packhorse
4. anything that resembles a saddle in shape, position, or function
5. a cut of meat, esp mutton, consisting of part of the backbone and both loins
6. the part of a horse or similar animal on which a saddle is placed
7. the part of the back of a domestic chicken that is nearest to the tail
8. civil engineering a block on top of one of the towers of a suspension bridge that acts as a bearing surface over which the cables or chains pass
9. engineering the carriage that slides on the bed of a lathe and supports the slide rest, tool post, or turret
10. See clitellum
    the nontechnical name for clitellum
11. See col
    another name for col
12. a raised piece of wood or metal for covering a doorsill
13. in the saddle
    in the saddle in a position of control

verb

1. sometimes foll by up to put a saddle on (a horse)
2. intr to mount into the saddle
3. tr to burden; charge

   I didn't ask to be saddled with this job

Derived Forms

• ˈsaddle-ˌlike, adjective
• ˈsaddleless, adjective

Other Words From

• saddle·less adjective
• saddle·like adjective
• re·saddle verb resaddled resaddling

Word History and Origins

Origin of saddle¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun sadel, saddul, Old English sadol; cognate with German Sattel, Old Norse sǫthull; akin to Latin sella (from unattested sedla ) “seat, stool, chair”; Middle English verb sad(e)len, Old English sadolian, derivative of the noun; sit ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of saddle¹

Old English sadol, sædel; related to Old Norse sothull, Old High German satul

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in the saddle,
   1. in a position to direct or command; in control.
   2. at work; on the job.

More idioms and phrases containing saddle

In addition to the idiom beginning with saddle , also see in the driver's seat (saddle) .

Example Sentences

That may sound like “The Handmaid’s Tale” with saddles instead of bonnets, but North is working entirely in her own realm.

From Washington Post

Another tweak is incorporating a low-friction material on the outside of the seat, or saddle, designed to avoid any chafing that kids might experience.

From Popular-Science

They used the path integral mostly as a vehicle to identify the saddle points.

From Quanta Magazine

This stem does a great job of absorbing high-speed vibrations that will wear you down after several hours in the saddle.

From Outside Online

They can take the wheels and the saddle off the bike, but nabbing the frame would require more work.

From Popular-Science

Certainly Weaver has been the burr under Palmer's saddle for almost his entire career.

From The Daily Beast

We will not rest till we find out what she ordered and how that famous butt is holding up after four days in the saddle.

From The Daily Beast

With the big kettledrums on either side of the saddle, and all that.

From The Daily Beast

But today, skyrocketing costs price way too many young people out of a higher education, or saddle them with unsustainable debt.

From The Daily Beast

Mrs. Buller cooked a braised saddle of veal and delicious it was too served with a rich gravy flavored with claret.

From The Daily Beast

Fatigue he never knew, and on one occasion he was said to have spent thirteen days and nights in the saddle.

From Project Gutenberg

"I call you," the policeman said, and stripping the saddle and bridle from his sweaty horse, turned him loose to graze.

From Project Gutenberg

We had been twelve hours in the saddle, and had ridden over nearly a hundred miles of ground.

From Project Gutenberg

Also our six-shooters reposed in their scabbards, the four belts hooked over the horn of MacRae's saddle.

From Project Gutenberg

I pulled the saddle off my horse, slapped it down on the dirt floor, and went stalking up to the long cabin.

From Project Gutenberg